Museums Turned Into Soft Power Nowadays

As stated by The Soft Power 30 in their report, not long ago, museums were a form of hard power. They acted as safeguards of the spoils of war and conquest of mankind. It was a form of expression of the state hegemony and cultural diplomacy. However, the role of museums has gone through some changes in the past years.

More Soft Power with Smaller Government Involvement

Joseph Nye's research proved that soft power is more effective when the source is independent of government and large corporations. In the past 40 years many museums had gone from being led by governments to being under civil society institutions.

More and more museums are leaning to this path. For example, 80% of U.S. museums are non-profits with independent boards. As a result, museums have gained new roles and responsibilities such as: positioning cities and regions as tourism destinations, knowledge economy stimulation or job creation.

In the current era, museums are not just landmarks. They are also key elements in successful place-making. Museums represent efficient, accessible and meaningful places where people can meet, exchange their views and try to solve problems. This once again proves how museums can act as platforms for soft power. Many cities have understood this and have planned museums at the epicentre of various urban development projects. The goal was to draw attention to the city on the global scene and improving the quality of life.

The "Bilbao Effect"

The Spanish Basque city of Bilbao is a great example of place-making. It shows that a post-industrial centre can be transformed into an attractive tourism destination. Before the construction of the Guggenheim Museum, the city received less than 100 thousand overnight stays per year.

After the construction of the museum, the number rose to over 800 thousand. This has been a great stimulus for the development of the city in many aspects, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops and much more.

Similarly, London has transformed the King's Cross area into a centre of knowledge and culture. The area now features 55 museums, universities, research institutes, the British Library, restaurants and living spaces with international train links to Paris and Brussels. In short, King's Cross has become a powerful place for opinion formers, travelling and thus also soft power

Museums of Communism in Eastern Europe

Another example of museums used as soft power are museums of communism or occupation in Eastern Europe. These countries take advantage of their own but also other historical developments and try to show the reality of communism to visitors, in order not to forget crimes committed in the 20th century. Some examples of these museums are the Museum of Communism in Prague, the Sighetul Marmatiei Memorial Museum in Romania or the Museum of Occupation in Tallinn, Estonia.

It is true that it is important to remind the new generations of the horrors and woes of the past. However, perhaps in this case there is a feeling of slight overuse and selections, with some events being publicized preferably over others, that the respective countries are not too proud of.

Museums of Communism

Nevertheless, museums are a strong form of soft power and are expected to be even stronger as time passes. Museums attract and engage people in real time and space and by transmitting knowledge and thought to the people they want to make countries and the world a better place.

Museums Registered Record Numbers of Visitors in 2016 in Italy

According to Dario Franceschini, the Italian tourism minister, the data of 2016 have created a new record for Italian museums. The number of visitors reached 44.5 million in state cultural institutions which brought a revenue of 172 million euros to the state budget. This in an increase of 4% and 12% compared to 2015, corresponding to 1.2 million more visitors and 18.5 million euros in gains.

The revenue will return completely to the museums under a system that rewards the best management and simultaneously provides support to the small companies. This is the third consecutive year of growth for Italian museums, according to the Minister. In 2013, 38 million tickets were sold, since then there has been continuous increases and this year the number is 44.5 million. This represents a 6 million increase in three years and an increase of 15% over the period.

Southern Italy has played an important role in the growth. Campania stands 2nd in the ranking of regions with the number of visitors exceeding 8 million, an increase of 14.2 % compared to 2015.

Archaeological heritage has a lion's share on the increase. In the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine, the Archaeological Museum of Naples and the archaeological park of Paestum and Pompeii 11 million ticket sales had been registered in the past year.

However, museums also have an important role, since about half of the cultural inflow is concentrated in the autonomous museums.

"Italy wears the pink jersey in Europe. All the positive data put Italy in sharp contrast to other European countries where 2016 was a year of decline of visitors in museums, as demonstrated by the data that are being published now," Franceschini added.

Over 8 million people have participated in the initiative of free Sunday entries (first Sunday of the month) since it was established in 2014. In 2016, 3 million entries were registered on the first Sundays of every month, compared to 3.5 million the year before.

This has become a custom for families and tourists. The data show that since the first edition in July 2014 the attendance has substantially doubled and now stood at 250/300 thousand visitors for every edition with significant peaks, such as the first Sunday of April 2016 with 376 thousand visitors. These are large figures and even more significant if we consider the visitors of civic museums joining the initiative.

The gradual expansion of digital presence of state museums is also playing an important role. For example, the fact that autonomous institutions are creating official accounts on various social networks as well as the fact that the Ministry of Tourism is intensifying online communication campaigns.

After a year of monitoring the online reputation of Italian museums, the overall satisfaction of museum visitors is 86.6%, according to data provided by Travel Appeal. This is an increase of about 4%compared to 2015. The number of reviews and posts on social media that visitors publish online grew by 45.5% compared to the year before.

Italian museums' digital activity has also grown in 2016. The number of content published on social networks directly by the museums grew by 156.5% last year. Facebook is the network with the highest level of engagement, although Twitter and Instagram are not far behind.

Overall, 2016 was a year of digital improvement for museums thanks to restyling of some websites and more conscious use of social media.

Finally, in 2016 autonomous museums established by the MiBACT reform have fully entered the system. This reform has relaunched their managements from new directions. The number of visitors coming to these museums totaled over 24 million, which is more than half of the total admissions of the state cultural institutions.

Ethiopia – A Living Museum of Remarkable Cultures Ethiopia is one of the tourist destinations, which for a long time now have been hidden from the eyes of the world. However, the country's tourism industry has been on the rise, and it is slowly establishing itself as one of the emerging tourist destinations in the world. It is a safe country with a lot of attractions, which offer a unique and rewarding experience to the visitors. However, one of the most amazing things about Ethiopia is the indigenous cultures of the local people.

Ethiopia is famous for cultural tours that are organized in the country focusing on the communities living in the Southern region, especially the people of the Omo Valley. These tours provide a unique opportunity to appreciate the joy of living the life to the fullest without the need of material things.

Southern Ethiopia is one of the most culturally-rich regions in the world, featuring people from nearly 45 different language groups. The communities that reside here include the Borane and Karo, who exhibit several amazing practices. One of the most fascinating traditions of these people is the building of dome-shaped houses, which are beautifully designed using bamboo trees.

One of the most interesting places in the Southern region that you can visit for a full cultural experience of the Ethiopian people is the area around the Mago National Park. The park is famous for a wide range of wild animals that inhabit it.

In addition, it is surrounded by people from seven different ethnic groups. These communities are an important part of the ecosystem, and visitors are welcome to get to know their cultural practices, and learn how they co-exist harmoniously with the surrounding wildlife.

The Omo Valley region is one of the most unique regions in Africa, where you can find some of the major ethnic groups existing peacefully with each other in a relatively small area.

Anthropologists around the world have even gone as far as terming the region a "Living Museum" due to the unique cultural representation that it holds. Below are some of the major peoples and cultures in the region:

The Dassanech people

The Dassanech are part of the Cushitic speaking group that resides in the Omo Valley. They reside in the southern region of Ethiopia, where the Omo River deltas pour into Lake Turkana, hence their name which means "people of the Delta". Their main livelihood comes from cattle, which is used as a source of milk, meat, and leather for clothing. They also engage in farming, especially during the rainy seasons when the Omo River has plenty of water.

They are popular for the ceremony known as the Dimi, where the upcoming marriage of the daughter of a male member of the society is celebrated. During the ceremony, the man becomes an elder in the community.

The Dorze tribe

The Dorze tribe is a part of the Omotic speaking people of the southern Ethiopia. The tribe was formerly known for its warriors, but its people are now famous for their farming practices and their rich weaving tradition – they weave a very high quality cotton clothing. The Dorze tribe lives in a community-based society, where most of the disputes are settled the traditional way – through elders.

The Karo tribes

The Karo tribes are found along the borders of the Lower Omo River. They are famous for their rich traditions, which include wearing elaborate headdresses among the women and decorative body art among the men, which is achieved by painting their bodies with chalk. These practices are common during important ceremonies, such as the Pilla, which marks the rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood.

The Konso people

The Konso people are part of the eastern Cushitic speakers, who practice farming and weaving. They are found approximately 960 miles to the south west of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. They are widely known for their woodcarving practice, and they are often referred to as the "people of wooden totem".

The Mursi and Surma

Found in a remote wilderness in the southwest region of Ethiopia, the Mursi and Surma are a largely forgotten ethnic group who lead their lives with very little influence from the outside world. They are widely known for their unique culture, which includes lip and earlobe piercing among the women, and stick fighting among the men. They also have a long history of painting their bodies in decorative art.

The Hamar and Benna

The Hamar and Benna people reside in the far south west region of the Omo Valley, beyond the Mt Buska. They are highly superstitious and until recently very little information about them was known to the outside world.

Often referred to as the "Bull-jumping" people they are famous for their bull jumping ceremonies, which are used as a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood for the male members of the society. The bull-jumping ceremonies also serve as courting, where both men and women decorate themselves in order to win a mate.

Paris: Remarkable Museums At Hand

France is without any doubt one of the most beautiful historical countries in Europe. Its capital Paris receives around 42 million tourists yearly, making it the third most visited city in the world. Unfortunately many tourists keep going to the same old places every time they are in town, skipping over some of the other interesting places. However the city hides a number of remarkable museums worth visiting.

Art Museums

If you love art and you are a little bit tired of waiting in line every single time you want to go to the Louvre, instead you can visit the JacquemartAndré museum. It is a small museum with a great collection of Italian art that includes paintings of Bernini and Botticelli, among others, and was founded by the banker and soldier Edouard André and Nélie Jacquemart, his wife, who was a well-known painter in the late nineteenth century.

Their love for art made them open this outstanding museum to spread it around Paris.

Another lovely art museum in Paris is Musée de l'Orangerie, a big repository of Impressionist and post-Impressionist artistic works from renowned painters like Monet, Matisse, Cezanne and Picasso. You can find this extraordinary museum close to Place de la Concorde.

Pop Culture Museums

If you prefer a unique kind of a museum, go to the Musée du Fumeur or the Smoking Museum. As you may guess, this place shows a large historic collection related to smoking, like carved wooden pipes and hookahs for example. There is also a tour covering the most recent history of smoking and even some famous smokers.

If your interests are more musical, you can pay a visit to the Edith Piaf museum, a two-room museum designed for the singer's most hardcore fans that includes many of her belongings like pictures, fan letters, clothes and even her gold records. Although the admission is free you must make a reservation ahead.

Natural History Museums

Not everything in France is about history or art. One of the most interesting museums you can find in Rue de l'Ecole de Medecine, is the Musée Dupuytren with an exhibit of anatomic anomalies, such as diseases and malformations founded by the surgeon Baron Guillaume Dupuytren.

In their collection there aren't only individuals or animals with those attributes displayed, but wax models, pictures and technical books.Another natural history museum you can visit is the Galerie de l'Évolution, a museum dedicated to fauna diversity on Earth and their habitats.

This fantastic museum is located in rue Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, where you can learn a lot about endangered species and evolution.

Top 10 Most Interesting Museums in Germany

If you are on holiday in Germany and the weather is not particularly nice, you might find yourself at a loss what to do. However, you do not have to worry since there are many interesting places that you can visit, German museums being one of the most often recommended.

Tourism-Review.com brings you the list of 10 must-see museums while you are travelling in Germany. The list is based on a research from February 2009 that was made among the users of the server Pointtoo.de.

Pergamon Museum, Berlin

Pergamon Museum is situated on the Museum Island in Berlin. It was built between the years 1910 and 1930 and was designed by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffman.

Among other exhibits that are worth seeing, the museum houses original-sized, reconstructed buildings such as the Pergamon Altar and the Market Gate of Miletus.

German Museum, Munich

Opened on 2 May 1925, German Museum in Munich now houses approximately 28,000 exhibits from 50 fields of science and technology. Both were transported from Turkey. The museum consists of three parts: Antiquity Collection, Islamic Art Museum and The Middle East Museum. The main display, the Ishtar Gate and the Procession Way of Babylon, is housed in The Middle East Museum.

The museum is the right choice for science fans as it is the largest museum of science and technology in the world. The main part of the museum is located on a small island in the Isar River.

Aquazoo and Löbbecke Museum, Düsseldorf

Aquazoo and Löbbecke Museum in Düsseldorf is not a traditional museum. Since it keeps and rears animals, it is rather a zoo than anything else. Opened in 1904, it now owns about 3,700 animals of 400 species. The main attraction is a public aquarium. The ‘museum' is perfect especially for families and children.

Grünes Gewölbe (Green vault), Dresden

The museum is located in the former UNESCO city of Dresden and was founded by Augustus II the Strong in 1723. Grünes Gewölbe is named after its first room that was painted in green. It houses unique and rich variety of exhibits from baroque period to classicism totalling over 4,000 pieces together. It consists of nine rooms with special exhibition theme in each of them. The museum was fully reconstructed and reopened on 1 September 2006. The most interesting exhibits are the statue of Moor with Emerald plate and the Dresden Green Diamond.

Porsche-Museum, Stuttgart

Those of you who are keen on cars should not miss the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. The automobile museum opened in 1976 and is situated just outside the Porsche Headquarters in Zuffenhausen. The museum houses over 80 exhibits, mostly rare cars and original models.

Romano-Germanic Museum, Cologne

Romano-Germanic museum is an archaeological museum in Cologne. It was opened in 1974 and houses a large collection of Roman artefacts from the roman settlement called Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium on which the city of Cologne was built. The museum itself is situated on a place of an original Roman villa parts of which are still preserved and now protected by the museum.

Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich

Pinakothek is one of the most famous art galleries in Germany. It contains paintings of European masters that lived between the 14th- 18th century. Albrecht Dürer's Christ-like Self-Portrait, his Four Apostles, Raphael's paintings The Canigiani Holy Family and Madonna Tempi as well as Peter Paul Rubens's two-storey-high Judgment Day belong among the highlights of the gallery.

Goethe House and Museum, Frankfurt

Goethe House is the birthplace of the most famous German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. There are many original pieces of furniture that Goethe and his family actually used. The exhibition includes manuscripts written by Geothe's own hand. The original house was destroyed in the Second World War but was carefully rebuild with all its details.

Museumshafen Oevelgönne, Hamburg

Museumshafen Oevelgönne situated in an old harbour in Hamburg-Altona is a maritime museum. The river Elbe with old Captain´s houses on its banks, a beach and various ships are definitely worth seeing while visiting Hamburg.

Übersee Museum, Bremen

Übersee (Oversea) Museum is an ethnographic and natural history museum located in Bremen. The museum specializes in nature, culture and trading, mainly in the regions of Asia, America, Africa and South Pacific.